


The Company Makes the Feast

by Lirillith



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-06 12:48:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3135047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lirillith/pseuds/Lirillith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith and Antonio develop a routine after a while.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Company Makes the Feast

Antonio's still not sure how this happened. Running into Sky High by chance, sure. Stop to pet the guy's dog, try to come up with some non-awkward conversation without calling each other Sky High and Rock Bison. But how they got from that to talking about their love lives — or just Sky High's love life, really — is beyond him. That's not his department. 

"So you were giving her the anonymous version of your problems, right?" Antonio's not totally sure what those problems are; or to be more accurate, he knows what they are because he's been paying attention, not because Sky High's said a word about them since they started talking today.

"Yes! Exactly!"

"But you still felt like she could get to the bottom of them."

"It was as though she could see directly into my heart! Or my soul!"

To be fair, it's a pretty transparent heart, Antonio thinks. Not that that's a bad thing. Sky High's a good guy, and he's completely, totally genuine, which was the part Antonio had some trouble believing at first. He means absolutely everything he says and he couldn't lie if his life depended on it; it's a miracle he keeps his secret identity secret. 

So Antonio has no doubt that when Sky High says he was in love with this girl whose name he doesn't even know, he means it. And it's not a way of saying he wanted to bang her, either. He really, truly felt like they had some kind of connection, and he really, truly misses her now. 

Antonio wouldn't believe in the love at first sight thing at all, except Kotetsu says that's how it was with Tomoe, too. It's weird, though, that Sky High would be like this; the guy looks like a movie star, so how the hell is it that the closest thing he seems to have had to a girlfriend is some chick he met in a park and never even dated? "Well," he says. "I dunno what to tell you about your girl, but I got no luck with women either. Buy you a drink?"

Not right then. Keith — it's not like they don't _know_ each other's names, they're just not used to using them — has to take his dog back home, and Antonio's got some errands to run. So they'll meet up that evening. 

It kind of becomes a thing. Not every week, but at least once or twice a month, the two of them go out for drinks. It's usually beer or liquor for Antonio, and coffee or lemonade for Keith; eventually it becomes kind of a late lunch thing, and they're as likely as not to end up someplace that serves tapas or some kind of food. 

And, the part that's weird for Antonio, they seem to spend an awful lot of time talking about feelings and things. Sure, they'll talk about weight training and stuff, too, or sports if there's something on TV, but Keith has no filter or sense of embarrassment whatsoever when it comes to talking about his insecurities, or uncertainties.

"Of course!" Keith says. "The point of communication is to convey feelings! I want to convey my emotions to you." 

"Um," Antonio says, and puts away the second half of his beer. He's been friends with Kotetsu since they were kids and conveying emotions is something he's pretty sure he's never once worried about. 

"But I'm not very good at it," Keith adds, ruefully. 

"I dunno, man, you seem to do okay," Antonio says. Keith doesn't seem especially cheered, but he tries to smile in response. 

Maybe that's why he got so fixated on that girl he barely knew. If he feels like he can't make people understand him, then some girl he just met who seems to would feel like a soulmate. Probably. Hard to be sure; Antonio doesn't think of himself as very complicated or hard to understand, and he's never thought of finding someone to understand him as a big factor in dating.

Hell, if anything, it's something he avoids. He figures men understand him better than women do, but he sticks to fooling around with guys and dating ladies; he's never really thought about it that way before. 

"I dunno about communicating feelings," he says finally, when he's got his new beer in his hands. "But you seem to make me think a lot. Totally different kinda headache than Kotetsu always gives me."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to give you a headache."

"Nah, that's not what I meant. Just a joke. You're fine, Keith."

He's doing more than fine, at work. He's the King of Heroes again, and even if it probably means a little less that he just got the spot because Barnaby retired, he seems happy. It has to be kind of a relief. And Antonio's happy for him, even if Antonio himself is now the least popular, most boring, and oldest of the heroes. 

"Sure you don't mind spending time with me?" Antonio asks. "You're a lot busier than you used to be."

"I appreciate spending time with you even more now!" Keith says. "And I appreciate _you._ " 

"Me? What'd I do?"

"You never care about my standing. You're here for me no matter what. Being King of Heroes is less lonely this time. It was kind of lonely, before."

He's damn well not _blushing,_ even if he's really interested right now in looking all over the room and everywhere except at Keith's totally honest, open, smiling face. "That's, um, good to hear. 'M glad."


End file.
